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Oct 7, 2015

Jim Carrey's grief complicated by reports on pills, Scientology

Martha RossMercury NewsAs Jim Carrey prepares to travel to Ireland to attend the funeral for his ex-girfriend Cathriona White, reports emerged over the past few days that may complicate his grief process.

Carrey is said to be "devastated" by White's death in an apparent suicide last week. The "Dumb and Dumber" star, 53, and White, a 25-year-old Irish-born make-up artist, had been in an on-and-off relationship over the past three years. They apparently broke up shortly before her death, the New York Daily News said.

TMZ, citing law enforcement sources, said White was found with three empty pill bottles -- all prescribed to Jim Carrey (under an alias). The prescriptions were for Ambien, a sleep aid drug, Percocet, a narcotic pain killer, and Propranolol, a blood pressure medication used to treat migraines, according to TMZ. Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter told People on Monday that White was also found with a bottle of Zofran, an anti-nausea drug, that was not in White's name.There is "reason to believe" White may have taken at some of the medications from Carrey's house.The Church of Scientology is also fending off reports that implicated it in this tragedy. Two of White's friends told Tony Ortega, a Scientology expert and former Village Voice editor-in-chief, that White had been undergoing the church's "Survival Rundown" (SRD) course at the organization's Hollywood Celebrity Center in the months before her death, the Daily News reported.The controversial alcohol and drug "purification" course reportedly involves an "intense regimen of daily sauna sessions" intended to detoxify the body. But Ortega reported that White had trouble with the intense "Survival Rundown" course and "had stalled on it in the last six months."The Church of Scientology disputed accusations that it had anything to do with White's death, according to TMZ. A Scientology spokeswoman told TMZ that any reports connecting White's death to the church are a "sad and reprehensible" way to exploit the tragedy of her death. The representative called such implications "outright bigotry" because it's like blaming Christianity if someone studied the Bible before committing suicide.While law enforcement officials told TMZ they don't think Scientology had anything to do with White's death, they still will question church officials as part of their investigation. The final results of an autopsy for White will take a few weeks due to toxicology testing.Martha Ross provides celebrity commentary for the Bay Area News Group. Follow her at twitter.com/marthajross.

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